HIST 267 - Islamic Law & Society: From Shari’a to Human Rights

FC SSCI CD WINT

4 credits
This course investigates the roots & evolution of Islamic law (known as Shari‘a), and how it is applied in Muslim societies today. Based on the Qur’an & Prophet Muhammad’s tradition, law scholars over centuries developed complex legal codes to regulate social, economic, and political affairs in Muslim societies. Islamic states created court systems in which rigid or flexible jurists adjudicated on issues related to gender relations, religious beliefs, political dissent, etc. Contemporary Muslim societies face new challenges compelling Islamic law to revise old concepts such as Jihad or adapt to globalized notions such as democracy, banking, or the human rights of women, LGBTQ communities, religious minorities, etc. The course scrutinizes original legal texts, controversial fatwas, and striking court cases from the past & the present.